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ing his family better than he was clothed and educated, is doing 

 good work in the world. 



Samuel Hawkes, of Saugus, thought that chance and accident 

 occur and form a prominent part in all business, less perhaps 

 in farming than other pursuits. He knew of men who had left 

 the shoemaker's bench for the farm, and had grown rich by it. 



B. P. Ware said that farmers generally are grumblers and 

 think they are having a hard time. The intelligent farmer's em- 

 ployment brings more intelligence and science into his pursuit 

 than other callings and he should be compared with professional 

 and mercantile men, and he believed that the farmer lives as 

 well and brings up his family as well as the professional man or 

 merchant with a salary of $2000 per year. James P. King of 

 Peabody critized a statement made by Mr. Carlton, that one- 

 half the farms are mortgaged, he expressed the belief that if 

 they were, one-half of those outside of Saving Banks were held 

 by farmers. In his experience of thirty 3-ears as Overseer of 

 Poor he had seen representatives of many callings brought to 

 the Alms House, but never a farmer, and he never heard of a 

 farmer failing. 



Aaron Low thought we did not give sufficient credit for the 

 products used on a farm. The bad crops of last year were no 

 fault of the farmer. All callings have their dull seasons and 

 thought the farming population had as much cause for encour- 

 agement as any other. The farmer works longer hours than 

 those emploj'ed in manufactures, but has advantages in more 

 freedom and in other ways and believed young men brought up 

 on the farm have better morals than those in cities. 



N. P. Perkins, of Wenham, doubted the statement that the 

 average farmer could live well and lay by $400 a year and 

 thought $100 would be nearer the figure. Again he didn't be- 

 lieve farmers live as well as other people. The market is par- 

 ticular and farmers have to sell the best they raise and eat what 

 is left. Farmers do not plan enough and have not courage 

 enough to stick to their venture. Don't touch anything that 



